June 20, 2015

June 20, 2015

Written by Maximus Peperkamp, M.S. Verbal Engineer

Dear Reader, 

TodaY, I was having an appointment with someone who didn't show up.  Later, I saw him at the Open Mike. He apologized for not getting back to me. I had looked forward to working with him and so it was a disappointment. 


While seated and ready to see the performances, a lady came in who sat in front of me with her laptop open. It distracted from the performance. When I asked if she could  close her laptop she became angry and said “I am working.” Also, I saw a person from the radio station, but he barely said hello. I felt ignored because he sat and talked with other people. 

When it was my turn to perform, the CD didn’t play as it had been printed on a computer and I sang another song than I had planned. It went well, but it was without music. I felt vulnerable to the  rowdy crowd. The place was hot and noisy. It was still nice to see a few of the regulars and I enjoyed some of their songs and acts. It now seems the positive barely outweighed the negatives. 

Events effect us in an accumulated manner. I saw one singer who sang a beautiful song last week. I was hoping to hear him again, but for some reason he left and he seemed worried about something.Earlier that evening, when the lady with the laptop came to sit in front of me, I somehow knew it was not going to be an enjoyable event. A moment I had thought of leaving, but I decided to stay as the two people, I talked with, who were waiting to hear me sing. They were a brother and a sister, but they had to catch the last bus home and so they had to leave before I sang. 

They were the best part of the evening. I had explained to her about Sound Verbal Behavior (SVB) and, like her brother last week, she totally got it. She said it meant a lot to her and I asked why? She explained she always believed she was not deciding her own behavior and that others were influencing her to be one way or the other. She spoke of her experience as a mother and stated that she had to distance herself off from her addicted daughter who was negative towards her. I validated her and I praised her decision to live with her brother as they could be the positive support to each other, which they hadn't been able to find alone.